The present invention relates to the technical field of image recording apparatus that record a latent image on cut sheets of a light-sensitive material by exposure and light-sensitive material processing apparatus that subsequently perform development and other processing on the as-exposed light-sensitive material having the latent image formed thereon, as well as image forming apparatus that use these apparatus.
Heretofore, the image recorded on photographic films such as negatives and reversals (which are hereunder referred to simply asxe2x80x9cfilmsxe2x80x9d) has been commonly printed on light-sensitive materials such as photographic paper by means of direct (analog) exposure, in which projected light from the film is allowed to be incident on the light-sensitive material to achieve its areal exposure.
A new technology has recently been introduced and this is a printer that relies upon digital exposure. Briefly, the image recorded on a film is read photoelectrically, converted to a digital image data (signal) and subjected to various image processing operations to produce image data for recording purposes; recording light such as optical beam that has been modulated in accordance with the image data is used for scan exposure of a light-sensitive material; the light-sensitive material is exposed while transported to thereby record a latent image, which is subsequently developed and output as a print (photograph). The printer operating on this principle has been commercialized as a digital photoprinter.
In the digital photoprinter, the image on a film is read photoelectrically and gradation correction and other operations are performed by subsequent image (signal) processing to determine exposing conditions. Hence, the digital photoprinter has many capabilities in image processing such as editing of printed images by, for example, assembling a plurality of images or splitting a single image into plural images, as well as color/density adjustment and edge enhancement; as a result, prints can be output as needed by specific uses. In addition, the data on a printed image can be supplied into a computer or the like and stored in recording media such as a floppy disk or a hard disk.
A further advantage of the digital photoprinter is that compared to the prints produced by the conventional method of direct exposure, those which are output by the digital photoprinter have better image quality in such aspects as resolution and color/density reproduction.
In the exposing device, whether it is in the digital photoprinter or an ordinary photoprinter that relies upon xe2x80x9cdirectxe2x80x9d exposure, a virgin light-sensitive material is in the form of a magazine, i.e., a roll contained in a lightproof case. The light-sensitive material is withdrawn out of the magazine in the exposing device and further transported for exposure and other necessary steps.
In the ordinary photoprinter, the light-sensitive material being transported is not cut, but remains a web as it is subjected to exposure, back print recording, development, rinse, drying and other necessary steps and only after these steps are complete, the light-sensitive material is cut to individual prints of a specified length.
This process requires that frame information (frame punches) for delineating individual frames (or prints) be formed before or during the exposure of the light-sensitive material. However, the portion of the light-sensitive material where the frame information is formed is simply a waste of space. In addition, frame information have to be formed by special means having a punch, a sensor or the like.
As is well known, the light-sensitive material in the process of digital scan exposure has to be transported at high precision and without stops. Therefore, if the apparatus is of such a type that the light-sensitive material is cut in the last step, a slack portion (loop) has to be formed of it both upstream and downstream of the scanning transport means in order to ensure that the scan transport of the light-sensitive material will not undergo any load variations or will not be brought to frequent stops on account of limitations in some other sites; however, this only complicates the mode of control and pathway of the transport of the light-sensitive material.
One way to deal with this problem in the digital photoprinter is by cutting the light-sensitive material into individual sheets of a size corresponding to one print and thereafter performing exposure, development and other necessary steps. This idea has been commercialized in analog photoprinters.
Nipping with transport roller pairs is a common means of transporting the light-sensitive material in the image recording apparatus, the light-sensitive material processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus of the type contemplated by the present invention. A problem with this transport means is that at the point of time when the light-sensitive material is nipped in a roller pair, its advancing end bumps against the roller pair and frays outward. That is, damage such as delamination or dislodging of color forming layers occurs in the advancing end of the light-sensitive material to be transported. This kind of damage becomes noticeable as the length of transport of the light-sensitive material increases. In particular, in an image forming apparatus that cuts the light-sensitive material into individual sheets of a specified length before it is subjected to exposure, development and other steps, the distance between adjacent transport roller pairs has to be adjusted to correspond to the light-sensitive material of a minimum size and the number of transport roller pairs increases accordingly, with the inevitable result that the advancing end of the light-sensitive material is extensively damaged.
The sharpness of the cutter is also a significant factor and if it does not cut well, the light-sensitive material will be greatly damaged by contact with the transport roller pair, Therefore, the advancing end of the light-sensitive material will be damaged more extensively if it is a cut end than when it is not.
Photographic materials are usually subjected to a wet development process in the light-sensitive material processing apparatus. If a light-sensitive material having a damaged advancing end is subjected to a wet development process, the developer and other processing solutions will permeate through the damaged end, which leads to swelling due to the delamination of the advancing end or color forming due to the dislodging of the color forming layers as exemplified by reddening due to the dislodging of the cyan (C) layer. As the result, the quality of the light-sensitive material (prints) deteriorates and, in an extreme case, the finished prints are not acceptable as soluble products.
The present invention has been accomplished under these circumstances and has as an object providing an image recording apparatus such as a printer that exposes cut sheets of a light-sensitive material to form a latent image, a light-sensitive material processing apparatus that then performs a wet development process on the as-exposed light-sensitive material to form a visible image and an image forming apparatus provided with these two apparatus, characterized in that the damage of the advancing end of the light-sensitive material being transported, namely, its delamination or dislodging of the color forming layers, is suppressed so that the permeation of processing solutions into the light-sensitive material on account of such troubles is substantially reduced to enable consistent production of high-quality prints.
Another object of the invention is to provide an image recording apparatus such as a printer that experiences fewer troubles in the exposing section due to paper particles.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an image forming apparatus such as a printer/processor system in which an image recording apparatus is advantageously combined with a light-sensitive martial processing apparatus that allows developed prints (light-sensitive materials) to be easily stacked with the image area facing up.
The first and principal object of the invention can be attained by an image recording apparatus comprising:
an exposing means for forming a latent image by imagewise exposure of a light-sensitive material cut to a specified length;
a transport means for supplying the light-sensitive material into said exposing means and for transporting an as-exposed light-sensitive material into a developing means that performs a wet development process on the as-exposed light-sensitive material which has the latent image formed thereon by said exposing means; and
a reversing means for reversing the light-sensitive material being transported such that its advancing end in the direction of transport becomes the trailing end and vice versa and being located in the pathway of transport by said transport means.
Preferably, said reversing means reverses the light-sensitive material by pulling it from the advancing end and delivering it from the trailing end.
Preferably, a surface correcting means that nips and transports the light-sensitive material at a higher pressure than is necessary for its transport is provided at least one of within and downstream of said reversing means.
Preferably, a distributing means for distributing the individual cut sheets of light-sensitive material in a direction perpendicular to the direction of transport by the developing means to form a plurality of transport lines is provided within or downstream of the reversing means.
Preferably, said developing means is adapted to be connectable to the transport means in such a way that the developing means receives the as-exposed light-sensitive material with its emulsion-coated side facing down from the transport means.
Preferably, said light-sensitive material cut to the specified length is supplied as a sheet-like light sensitive material cut previously to the specified length at the outside.
Preferably, the image recording apparatus further comprises a cuter for cutting a withdrawn light-sensitive material from a roll thereof to the specified length, wherein said light-sensitive material cut to the specified length is a sheet-like light-sensitive material that is supplied as a roll thereof and cut to the specified length by said cutter.
Preferably, said transport means comprises at least one transport roller pair for nipping and transporting the light-sensitive material.
The invention also provides an image forming apparatus comprising:
the image recording apparatus according to claim 1, and
a light-sensitive material processing apparatus containing the developing means provided downstream of the transport means.
Preferably, said light-sensitive material processing apparatus is connected to the transport means of said image recording apparatus in such a way that said light-sensitive material processing apparatus receives the as-exposed light-sensitive material with its emulsion-coated side face down from the transport means of said image recording apparatus.
Preferably, said exposing means of the image recording apparatus exposes the light-sensitive material from its top side and said light-sensitive material processing apparatus is connected to the image recording apparatus in series in, such a way that the light-sensitive material processing apparatus receives the as-exposed light-sensitive material with its emulsion-coated side facing down from the transport means of the image recording apparatus.
Preferably, said reversing means reverses the light-sensitive material such that the top side becomes a reverse side and vice versa as well as the advancing end becomes the trailing end and vice versa.
The invention further provides a light-sensitive material processing apparatus comprising:
a developing means for performing a wet development process on an as-exposed light-sensitive material which is cut to a specified length and which has a latent image formed thereon by imagewise exposure;
a transport means for receiving the as-exposed light-sensitive material supplied and for transporting the as-exposed light-sensitive material into the developing means; and
a reversing means for reversing the as-exposed light-sensitive material being transported such that its advancing end in the direction of transport becomes the trailing end and vice versa and being located in the pathway of transport by said transport means.
The invention still further provides an image forming apparatus comprising:
an image recording apparatus containing an exposing means for forming a latent image by imagewise exposure of a light-sensitive material cut to a specified length; and
the light-sensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 13.
The invention yet further provides an image forming apparatus comprising:
an image recording apparatus comprising an exposing means for forming a latent image by imagewise exposure of a light-sensitive material cut to a specified length from its top side and a transport means for supplying the light-sensitive material into said exposing means and for transporting the as-exposed light-sensitive material; and
a light-sensitive material processing apparatus comprising a developing means for performing a wet development process on the as-exposed light-sensitive material which has the latent image formed thereon by said exposing means and being provided downstream of the transport means of the image recording apparatus;
wherein said light-sensitive material processing apparatus is connected to the image recording apparatus in series in such a way that the light-sensitive material processing apparatus receives the as-exposed light-sensitive material with its emulsion-coated side facing down from the transport means of the image recording apparatus.
Preferably, said image recording apparatus or said light-sensitive material processing apparatus further comprises a reversing means that is located in the pathway of transport by said transport means and which reverses the light-sensitive material being transported such that its top side becomes a reverse side and vice versa.
Preferably, said reversing means reverses further the light-sensitive material such that its advancing end in the direction of transport becomes the trailing end and vice versa as well as the top side becomes the reverse side and vice versa.
Preferably, said image recording apparatus or said light-sensitive material processing apparatus further comprises a reversing means that is located in the pathway of transport by transport means and which reverses the as-exposed light-sensitive material being transported such that its advancing end in the direction of transport becomes the trailing end and vice versa.